Sparks of Chaos (10 page)

Luckily it was a large cafeteria restaurant very crowded with students, making it easy for him to blend in. For an old building, the lunchroom was modern with separate stations to collect different types of food before paying. This made it conducive for him to casually bump into her. He watched as she began to collect her lunch before approaching her.

Chase stood next to her and pointing to a selection of stew, he smiled at her and asked in German “Excuse me, can you tell me what that is?”

“Your German is quite good but you’re not from here are you?” she answered.

“No, I am an American and I’ve just arrived here.”  

Switching easily to English Birgit said “It a hasenpfeffer stew with noodles, it’s made with rabbit.”

“Rabbit, huh, is it any good?”

“I like it, my grandmother made it for me when I was little but it can be a bit rich and heavy for lunchtime. I think I’ll just have a sandwich and some salad,” Birgit explained.

That sounds good; I think I’ll have that too. I am here alone and I don’t know anyone, would it be okay if I ate lunch with you?” he asked her with what he hoped was his most charming smile.

Looking him over, she thought he was very cute, tall with nice golden light brown hair. He was about her age, clean cut and pleasant enough. There was a little hint of the rebellious about him as well and she liked it. “Okay, why not,” she told him with only the slightest coy smile crossing her face. She was secretly pleased when he insisted on paying for her lunch.

When they sat at one of the tables, he introduced himself with his cover name of Michael Wagner and said, “I am taking a year off from college to travel in Europe and I am starting by visiting Germany for a few months. I have to say your English is fantastic, you don’t even have an accent.”

“Thank you, my name is Birgit and my father is a Professor here at the University and he taught in the United Sates for several years. We moved to Cincinnati when I was eleven and only returned last year, so I am almost as American as you are,” she laughed.

Throughout lunch they made small talk and got to know each other like many on a first date. He began to shamelessly flirt with her and not just for the sake of the mission. He had to remember to stay in character and stick to his cover story he had been given. It wasn’t easy to do as it was hard to pay attention because he wanted just to look at her. He kept the details to a minimum so he wouldn’t get confused by having to tell too many lies. They talked for almost an hour and a half before she noticed the time and said she needed to get back to work.

Chase insisted on walking with her back to the office and said, “Will you have dinner with me tonight?”

She looked at him closely and replied “I don’t think tonight will work but I can meet you here tomorrow for lunch again if you’re free then.”

A smile lit up his face as he said “Great I will meet you here at noon tomorrow, it’s a date.”

She surprised them both by standing on her tip toes and reaching to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. Before he could react, she waved goodbye and disappeared into the building. As per his briefing instructions, he walked to his next location, a non-descript and moderately priced European chain hotel a few blocks away from the university.

Chapter 20

Chase walked toward the University the next day to meet Birgit for his lunch date. He thought how wonderful everything was going so far. Before arriving he had been apprehensive but now that he had met the girl the whole plan was on track. Meeting Birgit was great, he really liked her and he had been looking forward to seeing her again. He was supremely confident that he would be able to convince her somehow to let him meet the Professor. It didn’t matter if the plan took a while to accomplish; he was having fun and in no hurry to get back to the island regardless of what they’d told him. It appeared that his good luck was back with him.

On the way there he had even thought to buy her a small bouquet of flowers to surprise her with. He paced impatiently, tightly holding the small bundle of flowers while waiting for her to come out the door of the building. After a ten minute wait, she finally arrived saying she was sorry for the delay, as her boss was being more finicky than usual. Clearly pleased with the flowers, she beamed at him with a sunny smile. “They’re lovely, thank you; I know a great place for us to go for lunch today.”

Although they hadn’t known each other for long, she felt comfortable enough to take him by the arm and begin to lead him down the street. “I thought we could go to Die Alte Rathskellar if you don’t mind. It has great German food and it is nearby. There is an American restaurant called Buffalo Bill’s if you would prefer something more familiar.”

“No, that sounds perfect I’d love some local food. Although my ancestry is German, it’s my first time in your country and I already like the local things,” he said giving her a sly wink as he stuck to his cover story.

They walked down a few steps into a crowded, smoky and somewhat dark restaurant. Sitting in a small booth, Birgit suggested they order a traditional pork schnitzel with potatoes. Despite
the room being dimly lit
, Birgit was able to get a good look at her lunch date. Chase was truly a very attractive young man. His skin was clear and flawless; his teeth were straight and white, his golden hair was thick and shone as if it had its own power source. He was tall, trim and in amazing shape with sparkling blue, green eyes. She was thrilled that a boy like Chase liked her and she was enjoying being with him.

 Chase noticed that she was cutting and eating her meat using both hands with the fork in her left even though she was right handed, “what’s up with that?”

She laughed, “To Americans this looks rude to eat this way but actually it’s much easier.”

“I doubt that.”

She got up and sat next to him and took his hands to show him how, “Let me show you.”

When she took his hands his breath caught in his throat, she was so close, like a thief on his skin. He pretended not to be able to cut his meat that way so he could enjoy her this way just a little longer. She sat a bit closer to him and giggled “You’re a complete doofus.” He put his arm around her, moved her plate over to his side of the table and silently grinned.

They enjoyed their meal while Birgit talked to Chase about everything. He just let her talk, occasionally chiming in with a comment or a response when needed. “What’s your family like?” she asked.

“Oh I from Chicago, with two brothers and my grandparents are from Germany,” he told her, keeping to his cover story. He was really from San Diego, was an only child and had never even been to Chicago. My parents both sell real estate, what about you?”

“I’m an only child, my mother died when I was ten and I think that’s why father decided to take the job and move us to the United States. We’ve only been back here for about a year and I’m having a hard time fitting back in Germany. My dad arranged this job for me at the University in hopes that I could get involved and meet more people. I’m only taking a few courses this year to ease into things a bit.”

“
What kind of work do you do at the University?
”

“I’m just a secretary, my boss is very old. He was famous along time ago and won a Nobel Prize. It really is quite sad, he has no family, he’s slipping away and everyone feels sorry for him.”

“Slipping away?’

“He’s a very nice old man but its Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or something but he seems to be slowly losing his mind. The school wants to do anything to help him. He comes to the office every day but it’s just to keep him busy. He doesn’t do any work or see students any more. Every once in a while someone will come and visit for a few minutes but lately he can’t seem to remember them. I’m more of a babysitter than a secretary; he has been getting worse,”

“I’m sorry to hear that, what’s his name?”

“Herr Doctor Karlheinz Hauptmann, he was a great physicist in his time.”

“Wow, I would love to get to meet him sometime if I could. I’ve been studying physics in college myself and it would mean a lot to me to meet a Nobel Prize winner. My Professors back home would be very impressed if told them I had met him. Do you think you can get me in for a few minutes?” he asked.

“If I do, it will have to be soon, I heard some of the other secretaries at work saying they’ve heard he’s going to be sent away to a nursing home soon. It’s just a rumor right now, so I’m not sure if it is true or when it would happen. If it does, I guess I will be out of a job.”

“Sorry to hear that, well I hope I can see him before that happens,” Chase said in what he hoped was nonchalance. He did not want her to get suspicious of his motives but it was the perfect opening for him to bring up the potential meeting.

“Sure I’ll see what I can do. Maybe I can get you in to see him this week, if he seems to be having a good day. It’s funny; you don’t strike me as a physics student. You are quite different from all the other physics students here that I’ve met.”

“Thanks, that would be great, and I’m not that different, I’m just a regular guy.”

Laughing she said “I sincerely doubt that, you are anything but an ordinary guy. I can’t quite put my finger on it but there is something special about you.”

Changing the subject he asked her, “Maybe we could go to the movies and have a meal tonight?”

“I’d love that, there’s a new movie in the vampire series that I’ve been dying to see.” She went on about how much she loved the books, movies and characters. “Are you on Team Edward or Team Jacob? Which one do you think she should be with?”

Chase thought, what was it with girls and vampires, when they were younger they all wanted to be princesses. When they got older they were obsessed with having sensitive vampire boyfriends. He had taken a girl back home to see one of those dreadful movies. It was all he could do to make himself sit through the whole thing without getting up and walking out. It was even harder to pretend to like it and talk to her about it afterwards. Now he was going to have to do it again. Vampires weren’t real; he could certainly testify that he had seen a lot weirder things than vampires that were real. If only Birgit knew the truth, not that he could tell her what he’d seen or that she would believe him if he did. He had sort of stopped listening about midway through her vampire conversation and just realized she was waiting for him to answer. “The vampire one, I think.”

“Good choice, that’s what I think too.” Smiling, she squeezed his hand and said “See, we think alike.”

Looking at her, he forgot all about being annoyed at the vampire discussion and said “Are all the girls in Germany as pretty and wonderful as you?”

“Yes, we have a wonderful selection, haven’t you noticed?”

“Not really, if you find the right one, you don’t need more.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.”

“So you’re assuming I was talking about you, huh?”

Birgit punched him in the arm as he laughed and told him “Keep it up funny man and you’ll be wearing the rest of that schnitzel home.”

“You punch pretty hard for a girl,” Chase said with mock indignation and a chuckle in his voice as he rubbed his arm.

“Let me get you a shovel, so you can dig yourself in a little deeper,” she said, matching his laugh. They finished their lunch and walked outside. The sun was shining deliciously when they stepped onto the street. Grabbing his hand she pulled him along toward their next destination. “I have another little German delicacy I want you to try.”

Chase said with a mischievous grin. “Oh, and just what might that be?” 

“I was talking about some nice dessert at a bakery down the street,” she said playfully punching him in the arm again.

“Punching seems to be quite a thing for you isn’t it?”

“You better stop now or you are going to get another one.”

They walked down a quaint cobblestoned winding street lined on both sides with local cafes and small shops. They could smell it before they even saw it. It was that wonderful aroma of fresh baked bread that wafted from the corner store and immediately made their mouths water. Even though they had just eaten lunch it made them both hungry. It was a smell that reminded you of your grandmother’s kitchen on a cold winter’s day.

The sign hanging from the wall above the door had a large twisted Pretzel on a dark brown wooden board with gold letters spelling 
Das Gluck Backerei. 
They practically floated in on the aroma to find a smallish store filled with a variety of baked goods in old fashioned wood and glass cases. Several types and shapes of breads and rolls, small individual cakes and tarts all fought with each other for their attention.

“This is my absolute favorite bakery in the city. It makes me feel good every time I come here. There’s something in particular that I would like you to try.” Birgit pointed to a case toward the back of the store that held rows of eight different types of round fried pastries. “These are called 
schneeballen
.”

“Snowballs?” he asked. Maybe this was a sign and not just a coincidence that the store was named the Good Luck Bakery and he was always on the lookout for more ways to reinforce his belief in his natural luck.

“They’re strips of short crust pastry formed into a ball, deep-fried and traditionally covered with powdered sugar, so they look like snowballs. They have many flavors now, with chocolate, nuts, marzipan and nougats. I still prefer the plain powdered sugar kind myself. My mother would take me to the bakery with her when I was a little girl and buy me one if I was good. Since she died when I was young it still makes me think of her every time I eat one.”

Chase was pleased that she chose to share that memory and her vulnerability with him. “They look delicious; I’d love to try one.”

“These are a specialty of a little town not too far from here called Rothenburg ob der Tauber, that my mother was from. It is an old medieval walled city that’s popular with tourists.  If you stay here in Germany for a while maybe I could show it to you sometime. I haven’t been back there since she died and it would be nice to share it with you.”